I am pleased to see that they are really clamping down on speeding, impaired driving and other traffic violations. As well as adding more police officers along the highways and in all areas of crime enforcement, they are also increasing the fines and consequences for those who break the law.
Of course there a lot more vehicles on the road these days, but it also seems that a lot of them are always in a hurry? I see last week where the Edmonton City Police put the pedal down and handed out 1,900 traffic and related tickets in 24 hours, with fines ranging from $300 and into the thousands for speedsters like the jerk they clocked at 114 kilometres over the posted limit.
Don’t get me wrong…. I certainly don’t dawdle along out there on the highways and I have had my share of tickets and demerits over the 46 years I have managed to stay behind the wheel. With more modern cars and modes of transportation one can make a lot of miles these days, but that doesn’t mean that we should go faster and drive with stress and reckless abandon does it? Even as we cruise along the QEII at 120 and maybe even a touch more there are always those who zip by and look at us like we are in second gear.
Of course there are those vital areas where we all have to pay special attention from behind the wheel, including: school zones, construction zones, cross-walks, parking lots, yield signs, intersections and when coming in contact with emergency vehicles or school buses. Throughout the day and evenings the streets, sidewalks, and alleys of our communities are full of adults and children of all ages walking to work, to and from school, or to their chosen activities. When traveling in these areas we all need to take special caution, slow down, and imagine that it is our children, grandchildren, parents, friends, and neighbours that are out there riding their bikes, skateboarding, casually strolling, or dashing to get to school to beat the bell or to the rink before the game.
No matter how much of a hurry we are in or if we might be late for work or a meeting, the dire consequences of an accident and possible devastating tragedy will far out rank all the excuses if we break the law. If something does go wrong, and we all pray that it won’t, we may or may not have lots of time to think about it or to suffer the dire consequences.
Some may not pay much attention to this message, but I have taken the time any way to search out the recently reviewed fines and demerits for traffic violations, and of course they can and will get a whole lot tougher, depending on the crime. We can all be assured that we WILL be paying attention to the Judge if we ever get caught breaking one of them.
*Failure to yield to pedestrian in a crosswalk-$575and 4 demerits.
*Stop sign violation-$287and 3 demerits.
*Failure to stop at a red light-$287and 3 demerits.
*Failure to obey traffic control device-$172and 3 demerits.
*Illegal U-Turn-$115 and 2 demerits.
*Failure to signal a lane change-$115 and two demerits.
*Speeding-15 km/hour over limit-$89 and two demerits.
*Speeding-20 km/hour over limit-$124 and three demerits.
*Speeding-25 km/hour over limit-$150 and three demerits.
*Speeding-30 km/hour over limit-$177 and four demerits.
*Speeding-40 km/hour over limit-$264 and four demerits.
*Speeding-50 km/hour over limit-$351 and six demerits.
*Speeding over 50 km/hour over limit is a mandatory court appearance.
*Careless Driving-$402 and six demerits.
*Race on Highway-$402 and six demerits.
*Following to close-$172 and four demerits.
*Unsafe left turn-$115 and two demerits.
*Failure to back up safely-$115 and two demerits.
*Passing a school bus violation-$402 and six demerits.
*Driver/passenger not wearing seat belt-$115.
*Failure to produce documents-$172.
*Displaying expired licence plate-$230.
*Vehicle equipment violation-$115.
*Impaired driving-first charge-minimum fine $1,000--one year suspension.
*Impaired driving-second offense-add minimum of 30 days in jail and more money to the first offense charges.
*Impaired driving-third offense-add minimum of 120 days in jail and more money to the first offense charges.
Some of the simple solutions for all of us to avoid getting nailed and published in the weekly Police Beat: obey the traffic laws; make use of a designated driver when overindulging; think about life without wheels; think about the pain, guilt, expense, loss, and suffering that an accident can create; take a little extra time to get where you are going; and please drive and think safely and with everyone else in mind. Have a great week, all of you.